10/31/07

Streetlight Manifesto - Somewhere in the Between (Victory Records, 2007)

Streetlight Manifesto hasn’t had any easy breaks. Ever since frontman Tomas Kalnoky ditched New Jersey ska legends, Catch 22, after single-handedly writing their most well-known record (1998’s Keasbey Nights), he’s a had his work cut out for him. Kalnoky released Streetlight’s first record in 2003 and it became a huge indie success. The years that followed though, were filled with a string of robberies, some big lineup changes, and continued feuding with Kalnoky’s old band, and all the while dealing with a wave of fans asking “Where’s the new album?!” After last year’s ill-advised re-recording of Kalnoky’s landmark Catch 22 record, Streetlight Manifesto has finally emerged with their first set of new material in four years, and it’s been worth it for the ten songs that grace this album.

The record opens with the soaring intro to “We Will Fall Together,” which acts as a reintroduction to the band altogether, and throughout the rest of the song, Streetlight leaves us with all of the hallmarks of the band’s first album: classically influenced horns, furious upstrokes, stop-on-a-dime tempo changes, interweaving gang vocals, and of course, a totally awesome breakdown. There’s no shortage of these things on the rest of the record either, the two tracks to appear on a virtual sampler earlier this month, “Down, Down, Down to Mephisto’s Café” and “Watch it Crash” both rise and fall with Kalnoky’s suburban crime narratives just like the best songs from 2003’s Everything Goes Numb.

What’s really great about Somewhere in the Between though, is what’s different, even though at first listen, nothing really seems like it’s changed. “One Foot on the Gas, One Foot in the Grave” shows off a strong Caribbean influence, and the Spanish tinges to “Would You Be Impressed?” add a new dimension to what would be a standard ska tune. Another improvement the band has made is a newfound ability to cut out the fat. Somewhere in the Between runs a full 2 songs and 10 minutes shorter than its predecessor, and somehow grows into an altogether “bigger” album. Ambitious oversights like Everything Goes Numb’s “A Moment of Silence”/”A Moment of Violence” (which worked in theory, but not really in execution) are exempt from Somewhere in the Between.

Not every track is a standout though, as songs like “Forty Days” and “The Blonde Leading the Blind” blur together somewhat, being a little less than memorable. Occasionally, Kalnoky nods a little too much towards his earlier work, which seems less referential and more contrived than anything else. And like any ska record, it has a feeling of, “If you like one song, you’ll like them all.” If ska isn’t your bag, it’s unlikely you’ll be able to sit through 45 minutes of what is essentially super-hyperactive reggae.

With the record acting as the final chapter of Kalnoky’s Keasbey Diaries, it contains the same lyrical themes of suicide, robbery, and kids living outside of society’s values, which are part of what makes his records so compelling. Lines like “and I knew you when you were you, before they twisted all your views, before you came unglued,” are poignant, and just fun as hell to sing along with, and that’s what this record is, more than anything: fun. Streetlight Manifesto has grown exponentially in the last 4 years, and if we have to wait jut as long for another full-length that shows as much growth as this one, it’ll be well worth it.

5 comments:

Anonymous
said...

you best be joking, overall your review is meh. But A Moment of Silence?violence worked brilliantly and is by far the best SM has produced. Also, you shouldn't even call the second album ska. And you shouldn't pidgeon hole Tomas for is crime based songs, he only wrote four and he calls them "noir song writing" and on that note, Mephisto's Cafe is about religion, not even close to crime anything.

I keep coming to this website[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url]the-real-moshpit.blogspot.com is filled with quality info. Do you pay attention towards your health?. Let me present you with one fact here. Research displays that about 60% of all U.S. grownups are either fat or overweight[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url] So if you're one of these citizens, you're not alone. Its true that we all can't be like Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Megan Fox, and have sexy and perfect six pack abs. Now next question is how you can achive quick weight loss? [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips]Quick weight loss[/url] is not like piece of cake. Some improvement in of daily activity can help us in losing weight quickly.

About me: I am writer of [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips]Quick weight loss tips[/url]. I am also health trainer who can help you lose weight quickly. If you do not want to go under hard training program than you may also try [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/acai-berry-for-quick-weight-loss]Acai Berry[/url] or [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/colon-cleanse-for-weight-loss]Colon Cleansing[/url] for fast weight loss.

Do you guys watch movies in theater or on internet? I use to rent DVD movies from [b]Netflix.com[/b]. Recently I discovered that we can watch all new movies on internet on day, they are released. So why should I spend money on renting movies??? So, can you guys please tell me where I can [url=http://www.watchhotmoviesfree.com]watch latest movie Runaways 2010[/url] for free?? I have searched [url=http://www.watchhotmoviesfree.com]Youtube.com[/url], [url=http://www.watchhotmoviesfree.com]Dailymotion.com[/url], [url=http://www.watchhotmoviesfree.com]Megavideo.com[/url] but, Could not find a good working link. If you know any working link please share it with me.